


Aliens Amongst Us

by AyashiTetsuko132



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Muggle, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marauders, Modern Marauders (Harry Potter), Past Sexual Assault, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 23:25:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19305991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyashiTetsuko132/pseuds/AyashiTetsuko132
Summary: Over milkshake, Remus and Lily talked about feelings they do not understand.





	Aliens Amongst Us

**Author's Note:**

> A deeper look into the past. I always believed that Remus and Lily were particularly close, so I just had to implement them in my Muggle AU fics. Watch out for an important cameo.

Lily Evans and Remus John Lupin are two of the biggest sci-fi nerds ever walked on this planet.

The two teenagers tried to see every film ever published of the genre, both new and old, and attend every event hosted by its community --often in costumes. It was only natural for them to consider subscribing to a leading sci-fi magazine so that they can stay updated on the latest trends in the industry.

But the seventeen-year-olds held their breath in unison when they found out just how much the monthly subscription fee was.

That is basically what my parents gave me in a month, they whispered urgently. But let us figure something out.

Luckily, having been gifted with both bright minds and a good sense of selflessness, Lily and Remus immediately found a solution. It was actually quite simple: They were going to share the subscription fee. So every month, the magazine would be delivered to Remus’s address --because he did not have a jealous, nosy sister who likes to peek into whatever stuff being addressed to him-- and the boy would read it from page to page. Until it was time for him to hand it over to Lily.

The arrangement was working smoothly until summer holiday came. Her parents took Lily on a holiday to Spain for weeks; the girl had to miss her turn to read the magazines. After that, they both got extremely busy with many things, that it was only when the new school year started that they would have the chance to meet.

This is why, on Monday morning, Remus arrived in school with one hand hidden behind his postman bag, carrying at least two issues of the magazine. He and Lily had promised to meet at the quad so that she could find a way to hide the magazines before class starts.

Yet when he walked towards Lily, who was talking to two other girls, he noticed that her eyes seemed to widen with excitement --for another reason.

“There’s something that I need to tell you!” she almost gasped.

Remus whistled. “Someone had a great summer.” He then added in a whisper, “Hey. This.”

“Thanks,” Lily replied in a hushed tone, hiding the magazines underneath her coat. “But seriously. Florean Fortescue after school. We need to talk!”

“Sure. See you.” His words might sound friendly, but the boy had confusion in his eyes when he walked away from the spot.

\--

Remus was already waiting at the school gate by the time Lily showed up, leaning casually to the wall and waving goodbye to some familiar faces.

Soon the two teenagers moved along the pavements, surrounded by the golden shades of autumn in London. It was unusually cold that year; both Lily and Remus were wrapped in their thick coats and puffy shawls, hands hidden inside their pockets as they walked and talked.

Even before they arrived at their destination, Lily would not stop going about her Spanish holiday --and how James Potter had somehow ruined it.

Her parents had brought Lily and her sister Petunia to a beach resort, and her holiday had started out perfect until she learned who their next-door neighbour was.

As always, James greeted her with that annoying smile, which made him look as if he knew her better than she knew herself. He was noisy during breakfast, liked to talk as if he owned the whole beach. He would be at every tourist spot that Lily was visiting, giving her the impression that he had been stalking her.

Most importantly, one particular night, James showed up uninvited to the swimming pool, where Lily was sitting alone, dipping her feet into the water to calm herself down after a fight with Petunia.

This is the part when it got seriously disturbing, Lily warned Remus.

At first, she tried to ignore him, for she was not in the mood for any company. But then he sat next to her, dipped his feet into the water as well, said some funny things, and the next thing she knew, Lily started talking about her problems to him.

He was being such a great listener that for once, she actually enjoyed being in the same space as he was.

She did not protest when he pushed her into the pool in an attempt to cheer her up. She did not even protest when he joined her in the water, laughing and splashing around, making noises that could be heard all the way to the hotel rooms.

When the security guard discovered them, the noises had already died down for the two teenagers were too busy kissing and touching each other.

There are many ways that this situation was hard for Lily. One, she hated James. He was an arse and had done terrible things to her childhood friend Severus. The boy may have never been a very likeable person, even Lily herself had not talked to him since earlier this year. But James still had no reason to be mean to him.

Two, James was basically part of a trio of the most popular boys at the school --a circle which included her own sci-fi buddy Remus.

“Making out with James Potter? In the swimming pool?" Remus shouted as he pushed the door into their favourite ice cream parlour. “Wow. Way to go, Lily!"

“Psssst! Mind your voice,” Lily warned, following him into the shop. "The walls are talking!"

She rushed towards Remus’s side and grabbed his shoulders. “Did he talk to you about this!?”

“Uh. If yes, I wouldn't be this surprised." Remus laughed. "Funny, he's actually being a gentleman about it."

The teenagers did not say anything again until they grabbed a seat by the window. As always, Remus asked for a glass of dark chocolate milkshake while Lily opted for a butter pecan milkshake --she always asked for different flavours every time she came around.

Taking off his woollen hat, Remus decided to continue their earlier conversation. “So, you and James. Finally, I can make a Venn diagram of my social circles.”

“No, no. We’re not together.” Lily waved her hands madly. Sighing, the girl then slumped her shoulders. “Actually, no. As in, I don’t know. We haven’t talked since.”

“Oh! Okay. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t said anything."

Lily lifted up her head. “He really hasn’t …”

“Not at all. Like I said, a gentleman.” Remus leaned back in his chair. “Which begs the question … why do you mind, then?”

Pouting, she gave no immediate answer.

“I mean, he can be a jerk, of course, and I’m sorry for that. But I think he had shown you … a different side of him during the summer. And since you consented to snog him …”

Lily took another long sigh as she covered her face with her hands; her long ginger hair suddenly looked unkempt. “That’s the thing, Remus, I … I don’t know. I guess I'd always expected him to be some type of person. And then it turned out he wasn't. And I couldn’t deal with that."

"It’s really hard to explain," she added.

“Try me.”

Two glasses of milkshake arrived at their table, giving Lily time to consider her words carefully. She even managed to take a glance around the shop, which was almost empty except for the two of them and a young woman with a little girl.

“Let me just do this,” she began. “You are his close friend. So tell me. What is he really like?”

Remus slurped his drink. “Wow. You like him.”

“I need to decide if I like him or not!” Lily almost flipped the table with her sudden surge of emotions. “So please answer my question. Is he … worthy of my time? Or am I making a fool of myself here?"

A tender smile grew on Remus’s face when he put down his glass. “I’ve told you many times before. He’s obnoxious, loud, arrogant. But he's also one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.”

“This is so confusing …”

“Well. It’s because … you’re used to knowing something for certain, you know?” Remus fixed his sitting position. “And now you’re dealing with a ‘grey’ person, who displays both likeable and unlikeable traits.”

It was Lily’s turn to lean in her chair, staring into the ceiling with exhaustion in her bright green eyes. As she did so, the little girl across the room started crying, begging her mother for another bowl of ice cream.

The little girl was still crying when Lily lifted up her shoulders and stared back at her close friend. “I guess … Deep inside, he’s a good bloke.”

A smile grew on Remus’s face. “A Venn diagram, indeed.”

“But promise me not to tell him.”

“I solemnly swear.” Remus lifted up his right hand, eyeing his friend mischievously.

“Hey. I don’t like those eyes.” Lily pointed at him.

“What!? It's just my eyes.”

“Stop it.”

“How!?”

“I don’t know!” Lily slurped her drink. “Now, how about you? I can’t possibly be the only one who did some … water sports."

The girl then laughed at her own joke.

“Well …”

Lily slammed the table. Leaning forward, with twinkling eyes, she pointed at her best friend. “A-ha! Knew it. Who’s the lucky girl!? Gosh, you never tell me anything about these things, I hate you.”

A faint blush appeared on Remus's cheeks. Bowing his head down, he became seriously fascinated by the straw in his drink. “That’s the thing, it's …”

“Lily, my darling!”

A voice booming through the atmosphere had managed to stop their conversation. Both Remus and Lily turned their heads to discover a fat lady in a bright pink dress with a bag of takeaway ice cream in her hand; she must have entered the shop while they were too distracted.

Remus failed to recognise the lady, but Lily already stood up from her chair to greet her. "How are you? Never thought I'd see you here!"

“Oh, I’m fine, darling. Look at you, all grown up!” The lady considered Lily from head to toe, after giving her a little kiss on the cheek. “How’s your mother?”

Apparently, the fat lady was a former neighbour or something.

“Oh, she’s fine! I bet she’d be happy to see you …”

“And who is this dashing young man?”

For the first time ever the fat lady seemed to notice the presence of Remus, who was getting up from his chair to shake her hand.

"Oh, this is Remus ..."

The lady shook the boy's hand politely. She then turned towards Lily and whispered with a wink, “Honey, he’s very handsome.”

“Oh, no, no!” Lily waved her hands hastily. “He's not my boyfriend."

“Yeah, we’re not like that,” Remus added. “I’m gay.”

There was an immediate silence as Lily slowly turned her head to his direction. The fat lady was too taken aback to make any reaction, other than placing her perfectly manicured hand on her chest.

Remus himself could feel his own eyes widened upon realising what just happened.

“Remus?” Lily whispered.

“Oh … Oops. Sorry. I mean, I'm going to pay!” Remus laughed, rubbing the back of his head nervously. “Yeah, that's … that’s what I was saying. Be right back! Nice to meet you, ma'am."

The boy then fumbled for his wallet before heading towards the cashier, leaving Lily and the fat lady in a very confused state.

When he returned to the table, the fat lady had already left. Stammering, Remus asked if Lily would like to go soon, and the girl replied with an understanding smile. She finished her drink while the boy packed his things; his mind did not seem to be in the right place.

Just as they were about to leave, the crying girl had decided to abandon her mother for refusing to buy her that second helping of ice cream. Still with tears on her face, she ran towards the door --and slipped down to the floor when she stumbled upon a crack.

Her crying went even louder than before, and it seemed to finally bring Remus back to the Earth. He immediately rushed to help the girl back on her feet, and his smile was warm when he helped clean dust off her dress. "Next time, be careful."

The girl's mother would not stop thanking him, but when he and Lily moved to leave the shop, she had already started scolding her again.

“Nymphadora! What did I tell you about …”

It was the last thing that Remus heard when he closed the door of the shop.

\--

Walking home in silence, Lily and Remus would only start to speak again when they arrived at the Evans family’s home. Taking the stairs that led to the front door, the girl offered him to stay for dinner, as it was getting dark already. But the boy was hesitant.

“Are you sure? I think my mother would love to see you.”

“Well, if you insist. But I need to make a phone call first. You know how mine is.”

“Alright.”

Once they got to the front door, Lily scrambled inside the pocket of her skirt for the key. Unable to find it in one go, the girl then dropped her school bag to search for it better.

As if he had been waiting for the moment to happen, Remus suddenly began speaking again. “I can't tell you who he was.”

Lily stopped searching. She slowly lifted up her head; when her eyes met with Remus's, they were full of questions. "Come again?”

“But to answer your question … yes. I've done it. This summer."

When James Potter left for a holiday with his family, their trio basically became lopsided, but it did not mean that the two remaining members could not have fun on their own.

My parents are away, Sirius Black had said over the phone one summer weekend. Remus himself had nothing better to do at home, and he secretly wanted to avoid doing housework, so he agreed to come over.

After a short student body meeting at the school, that Saturday Remus headed over to the Black family's home, which was located in the more upper scale side of the city. Sirius greeted him with a hug and a big smile; Remus swore that if his best friend was a dog, he would wag his tail excitedly at his sight.

They spent the whole day doing what they would usually do: Playing the guitars, making fun of Sirius's little brother, riding bicycles around the residential area, and throwing rocks at neighbour's window.

When bedtime came, despite having no plan to sleep, the two teenagers locked themselves up in the bedroom. Lying on an extra bed on the floor, Remus took the time to read a novel that he bought especially for the holiday. Up there on his bed, his best friend was reading a magazine filled with images of naked women in all sort of positions.

Cover up if you are going to please yourself, Remus warned.

Sirius responded by throwing his blanket at Remus, earning him an angry scold from his best friend. But right after that Sirius came up with a question --and a proposition.

“He was curious,” Remus explained. He and Lily were sitting on top of the stairs leading to the front door; the girl had completely forgotten about her missing keys. “If it’s the same with girls and boys.”

“Were you curious as well?”

“Uh. Well, it’s different,” Remus hugged his own legs. “I sort of have known.”

Remus had known that he would enjoy it when the boy leaned in to kiss him. Hell, he had even known it when Sirius fumbled around to take off his T-shirt, revealing that strangely enchanting paleness of his skin --and that youthful vigour of his muscles.

When the boy moved down to taste the contour of his body, with his long black hair trailing along his abdomen, Remus had also known that this will be the memory that he would like to keep forever. Of his own body, and of others.

“Do you love him?”

“It’s hard to say. I mean … We’re close. And I definitely love him in a friendly sense.” Remus shrugged. “But I don’t know if it’s more than that."

Remus stared at the view in front of him of the residential area during dusk. He senses a unique sense of serenity in watching the lights being turned on, and people walking home from work. But it was not where his mind really was.

"To be honest, I don’t even know what I am. Because I still find girls attractive." He laughed to himself. "So, no, don't change clothes in front of me."

Lily scoffed. "As if."

“I’m happy, though. I’m glad I did it with him. He’s someone I’m comfortable with.”

Remus did not want to explain to her the other reason why this mattered so much for him: The assault that he experienced when he was younger.

Beyond haunting him in his nightmares, it had forever distorted the way Remus see his body, to the point where it no longer felt like his own. But that night at the Black family's home, with a little help from his best friend, Remus no longer see himself as a victim. He had made a decision for himself to take back the autonomy of his body. Doing it because he wants it, instead of being forced to it.

That night, he was finally an adult. Not a victim.

“I’m happy for you.” Lily slid herself closer to Remus, opening up her arm to offer him a hug. 

“Thanks. I'm also happy for you."

Placing his cheek on her ginger hair as he hugged her back, the boy then added, "Trust me, James likes you. He’ll get back to you soon.”

Lily lifted up her head. “Do you think so?"

“He’s just as confused as you are. I know.”

The girl burst out laughing.

"If he doesn't call in two days, I'll kick him below the belt and drag him here."

"Fantastic."

Letting go of each other, the two teenagers returned to their original position. They brought back the comforting silence between them as they sat and watched the evening coming, each busy with their own thoughts.

Lily broke her silence first with a loud sigh. “Why are feelings so hard to understand?"

“Yeah.” Remus rubbed his face exhaustedly.

“I mean, it’s within us. But it’s also foreign.”

“Like aliens.”

"Yeah! Like aliens."

"You can't prove their existence yet. But you know they're there."

"Aliens inside our head …"

The two teenagers sighed again and stared at each other.

"You hungry? Let's go inside. I'll ring the bell. Petunia is inside, she's been watching us."

"Thought you'd never ask."

"Sorry! Anyway, how much did I owe you for …"

Her voice trailed off as she stood up and walked towards the door, followed by her best friend.

Inside the house, the phone rang.

**END**

 

 

 


End file.
